Greetings!
With the topic of Social Justice being current I offer a brief review of its history and elements.
I have heard comment from people uncertain of what Social Justice represented. In my view partisan political activism in the public schools is somewhat questionable in itself, but especially so when the nature of the political persuasion is not disclosed at the outset.
It will be interesting to see how this works out, but at the loss of a day taken out of the curriculum and an added $3,000 from donations to the Education Foundation the cost might be questioned.
A Review of Social Justice
As a force Social Justice began in South America shortly before the American Civil War. In its early form the movement was fostered by priests of the Catholic Church wanting to support and defend rights of native peoples and slaves. Since its appearance the Vatican has had an on and off association with Social Justice because the movement represented political action and brought the church into conflict with the state. That balance/counterbalance remains to this day.
An offshoot of Social Justice appeared in the U.S. in the late 19th century and into the 20th as a movement advocating prison and legal reform. This movement had some success in changing systems of parole and rehabilitation in what were formerly punitive institutions. In the early 20th century the Social Justice concept began being incorporated into the thinking and programs of two groups: the Social Marxists and the Modern Marxists. Both these groups saw Social Justice as a way to represent elements in their political and social/socialist agendas. In U.S. academia slightly more than a generation ago the peer review quarterly called Modern Marxism merged with the current per review quarterly called Social Justice. You’ll find that periodical carries over some of the early focus on prison and legal reform.
In contemporary society Social Justice is largely a political activist movement found primarily on the left and/or far left of the political spectrum. Protests and other forms of civil opposition characterize the activity of the followers of the Social Justice movement today. In a summary I think it fair to say Social Justice typically advocates political and social change. To my knowledge it has not championed academic freedom or freedom of speech. It is typically quite critical of dissenting views for being insufficiently progressive. In brief Social Justice is essentially a political movement.
Harry Drabik
Hovland
Editor’s note: Harry Drabik is a former English teacher at CCHS and is currently a board member on the Education Foundation. He wasn’t in attendance when the vote was taken to donate $3,000 to the Social Justice Conference.
Leave a Reply